MSI 890GXM-G65 HTPC Motherboard Brings AMD, USB 3.0 And SATA 6GB/sec Support
MSI has today revealed their newest HTPC-centric motherboard, and contrary to what you may expect, it actually supports AMD processors. The new 890GXM-G65 utilizes the AMD 890GX chipset and supports AMD Phenom II CPUs. It also handles DirectX 10.1 and UVD 2.0 multimedia standards, and it also has native support for the new SATA 6Gb/sec transfer interface as well as USB 3.0. Both of those protocols are hard to find these days, so seeing this support blossom on a niche mainboard just makes us grin from ear to ear.
As with many of MSI's desktop motherboards, this one is also equipped with the OC Genie, albeit a "Lite" version. This enables users to easily overclock their system in the BIOS, providing up to a 15% boost in performance by adjusting the CPU and IGP clock speeds. Movie lovers will enjoy the ATI Radeon HD 4290 graphics set as well as the DVI and HDMI ports; there's also support for full 7.1 surround sound, which really rounds out an already excellent HTPC option. So, is it time for movie night, or what?
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These (HTPC) devices are really becoming more and more attractive to me. I have a good sized physical DVD library I could record, and have instant availability on as well as more space, with the minus of the DVD's from my open house hold space. I could as could anyone else after a while drop completely any movie channels I subscribe to. I could add to my library through things like Netflix, and On demand services, by recording them to a device like this as well. I could also use them as a Tivo for recording scheduled TV shows, and Sporting events I watch, like or am going to miss. I will in time have a device like in the Sci-Fi books and movies where all my media is available on demand in my home. I can also through plug devices and wireless N control my home through an HTPC, TV OEM's are also starting to add apps and things to HD units, which would make this HTPC controlled environment even more functional. It can all also be viewed in HD format with these units through direct conversion. I am really considering at least making plans to build one of these in the near future! |
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This bit of news only makes me think of how quickly Gigabyte came out with their USB 3 and SATA 3 (that is, SATA v.3, 6 Gb/s) before this. Oh well, I'm an AMD enthusiast, so yet another Socket AM3 board with these features is pretty cool, especially since the hexacore chips will be backwards-compatible... |
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I really love seeing how more board manufacturers are putting so many features onto the smaller form factors like mATX. They are loaded with almost the same features as their bigger ATX brethren. The introduction of these makes building HTPC or LAN boxes more desirable. Only thing you really lose out on are a few pci expansion slots, mabye a few external USB ports, etc. Nothing that great. Big improvement over the mATX boards a few years ago. They are usually quite a bit cheaper than the ATX version. |
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